What is mushroom mycelium and what it looks like

Currently, the production of champignons and oyster mushrooms is quite a popular and profitable business. A good product is obtained from a high-quality and pure culture of mycelium, which, if desired, can be grown at home. The detailed information presented in the article answers the questions, what is mycelium and how to cultivate it correctly.

What is mushroom mycelium and its functional features

Mycelium or its other name, mycelium - the vegetative body of fungi (thallus) - is a system of the finest branching filaments or hyphae. Thallus is divided into two types:

• substratedesigned to attach to a substrate and transport nutrients and water;
• airforming organs of reproduction above the surface of the substrate.

The mycelium performs a number of important functions:

• promotes attachment of organisms to nutrient substrates;
• with the help of enzymes, it processes cellulose, obtaining from it substances available for growth and development;
• has the function adaptations to the environment;
• participates in sporulation and is responsible for the preservation of the resulting disputes.

The mycelium is a very important organ, in addition to its transport and nutritional function, it is responsible for the vegetative reproduction of organisms.

Types of myceliums and how they look

There are 7 types of the vegetative body:

• Film, consisting of light, tightly woven hyphae of different sizes. The main function is to attach to the substrate and obtain nutrients from cellulose.
• Shnurovoy, formed due to the accretion of hyphae and is responsible for the attachment and spread of fungi due to strong branching.
• Rhizomorphs are powerful cord-like weaves of threads of different colors, which determine the resistance of organisms to adverse environmental conditions.
• Rhizoctonia, consisting of thin and airy filamentous accumulations of hyphae and serving for the attachment and spread of organisms.
• Sclerotia formed by tightly intertwined and highly branched threads. Like rhizomorphs, it helps to endure aggressive living conditions.
• Stroma are formed in places of contact with the tissue of the host plant, tightly fused with it, and are intended to preserve fungal spores.
• Fruiting body is the place of formation and maturation of fungal spores.

Why get mycelium

The main purpose of thallus cultivation is harvesting edible mushrooms... As soon as people realized that hyphae clusters perform the function of reproduction, they began to use parts of wild mushrooms for breeding them at home. But such a product did not yield a high yield.

Over time, attempts were made to cultivate pure mushroom crops to increase their yield and sustainability. At the end of the 19th century in France it was possible to obtain such a mushroom culture, grown on a special sterile substrate.

The grown mycelium showed excellent growth characteristics.Using the technology of obtaining thallus in laboratory conditions, it became possible to produce cultivated mushrooms on an industrial scale.

How to get a quality mycelium

Before you start cultivating mushrooms, you need to find out where to get the mycelium from. The highest quality mycelium is obtained in laboratories... Such a product can be bought in specialized stores with good reviews.

If desired, the mycelium can be grown at home on your own, having properly prepared the substrate, ensuring comfortable environmental conditions and sanitation. It is quite possible to implement this idea.

Getting mycelium with your own hands is a suitable way for novice mushroom growers, because it makes it possible to try the method on a small batch and without high costs.

Features of cultivation technology

The technology of growing mycelium for the purpose of breeding champignons, oyster mushrooms, honey agarics involves the sequential implementation of several procedures.

The first technique for obtaining a pure culture from champignon spores is still widely used for the cultivation of high-quality mycelium, called uterine. This method allows you to grow pure, strong crops that give good yields and have excellent characteristics.

The main task of the mushroom grower in obtaining the uterine thallus is maintaining aseptic conditions, so as not to infect the culture with microorganisms present in the environment. Compliance with this rule guarantees a quality product with excellent taste.

Mature spores or part of the fruiting body are planted on a substrate, which is a sterile nutrient medium wort agar, oat or carrot agar.

The media are prepared in test tubes, and after they have solidified, the culture is introduced there with a sterile instrument, which can be a wire or knitting needle with a loop at the end. To maintain sterility, all manipulations are performed over fire.

The tubes are sealed with a sterile cotton-gauze stopper and stored at a constant temperature. about 24 degrees within 2 weeks before the formation of a full-fledged mycelium. Stock culture in test tubes can be stored for a long time at a temperature 1-2 degrees with periodic reseeding (once a year) to maintain the good properties of the mycelium.

The next step is obtaining seed from compost or grain mycelium. The highest quality compost is formed from the following ingredients:

• manure, preferably horse or cow;
• straw;
• gypsum;
• a piece of chalk;
• urea;
• superphosphate;
• alabaster flour.

Convenient to use as a substrate ready compost... It is placed in three-liter cans for 2/3 of the volume, a depression is made in the middle, the cans are rolled up with a metal lid with a 2-3 cm hole in the middle. The hole is sealed with a cotton-gauze stopper and the containers are sterilized.

Under aseptic conditions, the uterine mycelium is planted into the recess of the compost through a hole in the lid, which is closed again after the end of the procedure. The cultivation of the seed mycelium is carried out in the same way as the uterine one.

For growing mushrooms at home, it is convenient to get grain mycelium... For this, it is important to properly prepare the grain:

1. Boil the grain in water at a ratio of 1: 1.5 for 30-60 minutes and cool it down.
2. Dry the grain and place it in jars or polypropylene bags, filling them halfway.
3. Sterilize the prepared materials.
4. Sow mycelium, as in the case of compost.

The production of quality mycelium requires a certain skill and careful preparation of the conditions. Therefore, before you get down to business, it is best to try to grow a small batch of crops and harvest the first crop. The experience gained will be very useful and will allow you to evaluate all the pros and cons of the project for growing mushrooms.